Bill Greehey (right) chairman and executive director of Haven for Hope, greets the Rev. John Leies, president emeritus of St. Mary's University, after he blessed the mural.

Bill Greehey (right) chairman and executive director of Haven for Hope, greets the Rev. John Leies, president emeritus of St. Mary's University, after he blessed the mural.

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Brother Cletus Behlmann

Brother Cletus Behlmann

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Bill Greehey (right) chairman and executive director of Haven for Hope, greets the Rev. John Leies, president emeritus of St. Mary's University, after he blessed the mural.

Bill Greehey (right) chairman and executive director of Haven for Hope, greets the Rev. John Leies, president emeritus of St. Mary's University, after he blessed the mural.

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Mural dedicated at Haven for Hope

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On the 250-foot long wall that encloses Prospects Courtyard at Haven for Hope — the outdoor courtyard built to house and feed 400 homeless people — what was once gray and bland is now vibrant and inviting.

The 8-foot-high wall, topped by steel spikes, now holds a bevy of inspiring images, everything from renderings of San Antonio missions to religious iconography to nature scenes and abstract designs. All of it in calm, soothing pastels.

Haven officials want the homeless to find hope everywhere they look — a goal made easier by a humble artist and a band of determined college students.

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Designed by Marianist brother and artist Cletus Behlmann, St. Mary's University Artist in Residence, the mural was hand-painted by 50 St. Mary's students, who spent two afternoons working on the project.

Behlmann said he was thrilled when he was contacted by Haven officials months ago about creating the mural. He had done other murals around the city with St. Mary's students. He quickly developed some ideas after spying the long, gray wall that lines the huge courtyard.

“They told me I could do whatever I want,” said Behlmann, who wore flowing, multi-colored pants and a hot pink shirt to the dedication. “That's what every artist wants to hear. I didn't have to go before any board with my design.”

The concepts came fast and furious: On six-inch pieces of mat board, Behlmann sketched his 58 designs.

“I knew I had a lot of wall to cover,” he quipped.

At the courtyard he drew his designs on the wall in pencil, using images that “anyone could relate to and weren't terribly sophisticated.” Earlier, students from Lincoln, Neb., on Spring Break had painted on the base colors.

Using acrylic paint, the St. Mary's students — none of whom were art majors — painted in the designs, following their hearts' desire when it came to color choice.

Susan Jenkins, program administrator for Prospects Courtyard, which will be run by the Center for Health Care Services, said the mural “really serves to brighten up the lives of our guests. This just makes the courtyard so much more welcoming. It really is the starting point in their transformation.”

Greehey said in his speech, “If you don't have hope, this painting creates the sense of hope.”

Behlmann was paid a stipend of $3,000 to create the mural; paint cost $500. His artistic goal, he said, was to “lift the spirits” of the homeless. The students who participated said they wanted to give back to a forgotten population in a lasting way.

Ali Meyer, 19 and majoring in international relations at St. Mary's, helped bring the 50 students together.

“I just wanted to do something that was service-oriented that engaged my creativity,” she said. “It's one thing to work at a soup kitchen. It's another thing to help create something that is going to be here for a long time and from which you see results.”

Student Joaquin Toranzo, 20, said he's more into digital art than painting.

“But I'd heard about Haven for Hope and really wanted to latch onto it,” he said. “This was really all about the spirit of community and unity of vision.”